Dana Monique‘s sound is what Nick Jonas described as magical. She has a unique style with a powerhouse voice that takes you on a musical journey with the fusion of rock, soul, r&b and gospel. Her music has been influenced by the likes of Chaka Khan, Anita Baker, Gladys Knight, Whitney Houston and Patti Labelle.

Tina Turner has always been an inspiration for Dana. She loves her music as the grit in Tina’s voice made her realize that it was okay to have a different sound. Dana’s grandmother used to tell her that she had the same fire and spunk as Tina. Hence, when Tina re-released her 1989 album ‘Foreign Affair’, it inspired Dana to cover one of her songs.

“The Best” was done live. Dana poured all of her emotions into it, beautifully remaking this song into a stripped down acoustic ballad, full of raw emotion and piano melodies. There is a music video to accompany the track so whether the audience watches the video or listens to the song, they can connect to it on an emotional level.

Dana doesn’t need any beats to create lyrics. Most songs that she has written have no music to them initially but because of years of ear training as a professional background singer, she is able to create melodies from scratch. As for her songwriting process, she draws inspiration from experiences in her life. Being 42, she has experienced many facets on her journey and has a story that needs to be told, in hopes of touching others’ lives with it. She talks about everything: from love, homelessness, suicidal thoughts and depression to realizing your self-worth, healing and women empowerment.

The artist is completely involved in the production process of her music because she’s very particular about her sound. She can hear what she wants the instruments to do and sings that to the producer. Since she comes from the world of live performances, the groove of the music has to be just right as she wants to feel good when performing original music. She loves performing internationally and has traveled all over the world, headlining the BB King Allstar Band. 

“Music truly transcends barriers and borders because the love I felt when outside of America was surprising and amazing”, she commented. 

She enjoys listening to songs that say something meaningful, anything with auntie and family reunion vibes. Some of her favorite artists being Tiana Major 9, Lala Hathaway, Jill Scott, Chaka Khan, Whitney Houston, Jazmine Sullivan, Sam Smith, Aretha Frankli and Frankie Beverly and Maze. She would love to collaborate with her hometown hero, Beyonce, from Houston, TX, as well as some more boss women like Meg The Stallion, Chaka Khan and Jazmine sullivan . There are some great male vocalist that she wants to work with too, including Gene Noble, PJ Morton, Tank and more.

Social media is an important way for her to talk to her fans and share a piece of her world with them. She wants the fans to see and hear inspirational things because she is a creator and feeds off of entertaining people; the audience gives her life. She is thankful for everyone who loves and supports her and asks for them to stay tuned as she is currently working on a single and an EP.

Listen to ‘The Best’ by Dana Monique on Spotify.

https://www.instagram.com/thedanamonique/?hl=en

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